A Cancerous Decision
by laneyh
Summary: Yolei passes out in Joe's dorm room. He takes her to the hospital and get's some news... Yolei/Joe
1. Chapter 1

(A/N I don't own digimon, I haven't wrote fan fiction for awhile... Please R/R)

It was like any other typical day. All of the DigiDestined gathered in the Joe's dorm room, it had been years since they all got together. Younger digidestine were in high school, Yolei was a senior . The older DigiDestined came to see their digimon partners, it had been awhile since they saw their digimon.

"Ready?" Davis asked with Demiveemon trying to bounce out of his arms. All of the new DigiDestine nodded their heads yes, apart from Yolei. She did not look like herself at all, Poromon looked at her confused. "Yolei?" Davis wondered what was up. Poromon snuggled up to her partner.

"Go on without me. I'll stay here." Yolei acted like she shooed them away.

"Yolei, something is _wrong_" The digimon whispered to her partner, and was it right. The other new digidestine opened the port to the digital world.

"We'll be back soon!" Kari yelled back to Yolei and the older Digidestine. Yolei worked hard to smile at her friend, it was a struggle. Less than a minute later all of the new digidestine waved back to the others with the old digimon partners waving to their digimon.

"It was nice to see Agumon again." Tai commented, while the other older digidestine nodded in agreement. Gomamon waved back at Joe happily through the port.

"Joe!" He was waving both of his front flippers at Joe. He waved back to his digimon partner. Matt looked down at his phone.

"Hey, I've got band practice. Bye Gabumon!" Matt waved back excitedly at his partner. "We'll be united soon old buddy." The other old digidestine left to go to other task like homework or practice. Joe, Yolei and Poromon were the only ones left in the room. His attention went immediately to Yolei, considering she always opens the gate to the digital world.

"Yolei?" Joe walked closer to the girl, she looked pretty ill at this point. Yolei glanced up at him.

"I don't feel so good." With that she hit the floor rather hard. Joe tried to rush to catch her head before it hit the ground. Successfully he caught her head but nothing else. The purple haired girl was out, Joe didn't know what to do. So he dug out his phone and called up his father.

'_I hope father picks up.' _He thought as the phone was ringing. On the last ring his father picked up. Joe quickly explained what was going on; his father was giving rushed directions to Joe. He checked her airways and pulse. Her pulse was slower than normal. As per his father's instructions, he placed her gently into his arms and carried her into the hospital which wasn't even a block away.

"Poromon, please stay here. She'll be ok. I promise." The little digimon nodded, it wasn't so sure what was going on but it was bad. With that, he walked her to the hospital. Yolei looked limp in Joe's arms.

'_I hope she'll be ok..' _He walked into the hospital's doors with his father waiting there for him.

"Dad?" Joe was confused, he didn't think his dad was on call today.

"Joe, you need to place her on the gurney." He did as he was instructed. "Do you want to come with her?" He nodded, with that Joe followed the gurney while holding to the limp hand of Yolei. His cheeks blazed red for a moment, until his medical training kicked in. Her gurney burst through the doors of the ER, machines and instruments surrounded her. "Joe, do you know any medical information about her?" The answer barely escaped his lips.

"None." Joe replied. He sighed, this crush he had for Yolei developed slowly but hit him like a ton of bricks all of a sudden. His medical training was trying to fight through to help the other doctors, but this crush was just too hard. Quickly the doctor's stabilized her and got all of the tests done. Privately Joe was thinking to himself.

'_Yolei, please be ok. This is something more than some virus.' _Joe started to fiddle with Yolei's hand, slowly her eyes fluttered open.

"Where am I?" Joe was so engrossed in his own mind that he barely heard her. Again she asked in a louder voice, "Where am I?" That time it snapped Joe out of his thoughts.

"The hospital, Yolei, you blacked out in my dorm room. Poromon is safe there." He responded to her next question before she even asked it. She looked down at her hands, one was held by Joe's soft hand and the other was palm down with IVs coming out of the back. Yolei actually HATED needles with a fiery passion. Quickly she looked at Joe with a look of concern. "What's wrong, Yolei?" With her eyes she led Joe's eyes to the IV in the back of her hand.

"I hate needles." Yolei refused to look at her left hand where the IV was located. Joe patted the hand he was holding.

"A lot of people do, but it's going to help-" He was cut off with his father opening the curtain where the two where located.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Kido. I'm Joe's father." He made the connection before Yolei had time to really think about it. "We got your test results." Joe looked at his father who had a look of concern on his face, a look he's seen many times before.

"What are the results?" Yolei was getting anxious, hospitals gave her goose bumps. Joe held her hand tighter. Doctor Kido wiped his glasses and took a heavy breath. Yolei had a tighter grasp on Joe's hand as well.

"Leukemia"


	2. Chapter 2

The two were dumb founded, Yolei just started to break down. Joe didn't know what else to do; he just held her hand tight and kissed it.

"If we treat it early you the treatment will have 6 out of 10 chances it won't come back again with the therapy we're going to try. It was just approved, and it's your best chance to beat it." Dr Kido wanted the information to sink in before he continued on. He gave the two a minute to understand what he was saying. "Yolei, you were lucky that we caught it when we did." She gave Joe's father a weak smile.

"When do we start the treatments?" Yolei asked with trying to sound strong. Joe was still there with her holding her hand through this news.

"Today, if you would like." Dr. Kido spoke softly. "But there is side-effects just like any other type of radiation or chemotherapy such as hair lost and nausea." Yolei was nervous, but felt strong with Joe at her side. "I'll give you two a few minutes alone, and then we'll start the treatment." Dr. Kido left quickly to give the two digidestine a moment together. Yolei started sobbing, and Joe wrapped his arms around her.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Yolei. I promise." He held her close and let her cry into his shirt. Almost silently he whispered, "I love you." Joe hoped and prayed that she didn't hear him but she just started to sob harder into his shirt. Through the crying he made out her saying.

"Joe-I-lo-ve-you-to-o." Joe almost froze; he did not think that was going to happen. He held her tighter. "I don't think I get through this without you." Yolei was crying so hard that her body rocked with her sobs.

"I'll be here the whole time. I should probably, ask you out right?" Joe was trying to make her laugh, which actually worked. "Yolei Inoue, will you go out with me?" Asking her actually sort of terrified him; this was the first time he ever asked a girl out.

"Of course, I will." Yolei did not that Joe had such strong feelings for her. She hugged Joe with her arm without the IV. It felt like with him, she could defeat this. Dr. Kido walked briskly into the curtained area.

"Oh, sorry if I interrupted anything." Dr. Kido looked away for a moment while Joe and Yolei broke their embrace. A few moments later, Joe was back at his post of sitting beside her.

"You're fine, father." Joe straighten himself out. "Would it be fine if I accompany, Yolei during her treatments?" Dr. Kido looked at his son, he could tell that this love that these two had was special.

"Normally, no. But because this is a special case, I'll allow it. Just tell Dr. Wilson that I approved it. He'll understand. I'm going to get some nurses to wheel her up stairs to Oncology. You two stay tight." Dr. Kido left the area for one last time to get some nurses. Quickly Joe's father poked his head in, "Joe, please come with me for a moment." Joe looked down at his new girlfriend and kissed her on the forehead. Yolei looked up at him.

"I'll be right back; father wants to speak to me." Briskly he followed his father, Joe was unsure what was going on. The two reached a spot where his father knew Yolei would not be able to hear them.

"You'll know how bad this can be, just be careful. Her treatment will do a number on her, be watchful." Joe nodded; his medical training finally kicked in and realized the full extent of his new girlfriend's condition.

"Can I go back with her?" His father nodded and let the young medical student go back to his love. Quickly he return back to Yolei, she smiled at him when he opened the curtain. "Hey." Joe gave Yolei a peck on the cheek.

"Hey. The nurses came, but I told them to wait for you." She said with a slight smile, this romance really blossomed quickly. "They said they'd be back in a few minutes." Joe stood beside her, his hand in hers. Yolei whispered, "I'm terrified. After all of these treatments I'll be hideous." Joe actually heard all of what Yolei said.

"You shouldn't terrified, I'll be there the whole time. And no matter what you'll look beautiful." Joe said with such vigor that it had to be true. He gave a squeeze of her hand just as the nurses walked in to take her to her treatment. The nurses unlocked the gurney and walked to the elevator and rode it to oncology. The ride to oncology was short, but during it Joe kept a hold of Yolei's hand. Briskly the nurses rolled her to where her treatments were located. Others were here too all located behind curtains for privacy. They wheeled her into an empty spot and locked the wheels on the gurney.

"We just need to place the chemotherapy into your IV." The two nurses replaced the bags quickly, "Dr. Wilson will come and see you in about 10 or minutes." Yolei and Joe both nodded. Yolei let out a sigh and calmed down for a few moments. Then something hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I have prom in a month!" She sounded so upset at that fact. Yolei threw her head into the pillow and started cry. Joe started to rub the back of her hand to comfort her.

"Why is that a big deal?" Joe hasn't been in high school for four years and forgot how big of a deal prom was. "Shhh…"

"I'm going to be BALD at my senior prom!" Sobs racked her body violently that once again Joe wrapped his arms around her body.

"Shhh…." He did not want his girlfriend to feel as hideous as she said. "I'll go with you and you'll look amazing no matter what, ok?" Joe gave her one last squeeze before Dr. Wilson walked in.

"Yolei, Hi I'm Dr. Wilson I'm your oncologist." The man looked kind, around age forty with some wrinkles but a soothing voice. "You'll come in for treatments three times a week for the two months. Do you have any questions for me?"

"When will I be bald?" Yolei blurted out, she wanted to know if she should just cut it off before it fell out. Joe looked at her with concern, and rubbed the back of her hand some more. Dr. Wilson didn't exactly know how to answer her question.

"It just depends on the patient, for some it takes a week for hair to fall out and others it never completely falls out." The doctor checked her chemotherapy medicine. "But if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. Oh hello Mr. Kido, your father told me you'd be with this young lady." Dr. Wilson left and once again the young couple was alone.

"Joe, promise me something." Yolei asked.

"Anything, just ask." Joe replied

"When my hair starts falling out, will you help me you know…" She was so terrified to say it out loud. She started to cry some more.

"Help you do what?" Joe was unsure of what she wanted him do. He had a feeling on where is was going but he had to make sure. Yolei blurted out rather quickly.

"Shave-my-head." Joe almost didn't understand what she said, but once he did he kissed the back of her hand.

"If that's what you want, of course." Joe did not know how else to reply.


	3. Chapter 3

Three weeks passed since Yolei was diagnosed with cancer. For the time being she was staying with Joe so that someone could keep an eye on her after her treatments. She woke up to a large pile of purple hair under her head.

"JOE!" Yolei called for him as loud as she could. Joe rushed in looking like a mad man, his shirt mis-buttoned and glasses almost off of his nose. She starting to sob and held her hair within her hand. "I'm so hideous!" Yolei barked out at him. Joe wrapped himself around her.

"Shhh… no you're not." When he looked down while hugging her, Joe looked down and noticed even more hair on the pillow. Yolei sighed and looked down, she didn't want to admit to herself that she was about to shave her head especially the week of prom.

"I guess it's time…"

"Time for what?" Joe had no idea what she was talking about.

"To shave my hair off, you promised you'd help me." Joe's eyes opened wide in disbelief, he thought that Yolei just said that.

"Uhh…do you really want me to do it? You could go a salon or something..." Joe was not sure that he could actually do it for her. Yolei was putting a lot of trust into him. She glanced up at him with her long purple locks in her hand.

"Joe, I trust you. And this isn't exactly something that you should go to a salon for." Yolei did have a point, no hair stylist would willingly shave a lady's head. Again she sighed, " I knew this was going to happen, but not this close to prom." Looking at the garment bag hanging on the back of Joe's door, Yolei held her head down. "Let's get this over with." She held her head high, honestly she just wanted to go to prom with Joe. He sat on the bed with her.

"Are you sure, sweetie?" Joe just wanted to make sure that Yolei was positive about this very large decision. She nodded. "If it means that much to you, I'll do it." He let out a long sigh, and grabbed her hand. "No matter what you look like you'll be beautiful, just remember that." Yolei gave Joe a small smile. He led her to the small bathroom. She bought a pair of clipper, for when they needed to perform this task.

"The clippers are in the cabinet under the sink." Yolei told him, Joe was almost shaking, he was as nervous as she was. Locating them was easy because they were one of only things located in the cabinet. He pulled them out and got them ready.

"Are you 100% positive that you want me to do this?"

"Just get it over with." Yolei closed her eyes tight so that she wouldn't see her long purple strains fall from her head. Joe flipped on the clippers and started to run them through what was left of her hair. Quickly all of the hair was shaved off of Yolei's head; Joe sighed and turned off the clippers. On the floor was a purple rug of her hair . He placed the instrument down and kissed his girlfriend on the lips. She opened her eyes and looked down. Instantly Yolei, started to sob uncontrollably.

"Oh what's wrong?" Joe grabbed her into a large bear hug to comfort her. Yolei wiped the tears from her eyes so that her boyfriend actually understood what she was saying.

"I'm ugly." She simply said and raced out of the bathroom as quick as she could. Before Joe even had time to respond, she was on the bed face down crying into the pillow. He sat down beside her and rubbed her back.

"Shh… stop that talk. You know I still love you, no matter what you look like." Yolei dismissed his statement. "Do you love me no matter what?" Joe asked her, with his black locks tucked behind his ears. His long hair was something Yolei liked about Joe.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" She honestly didn't understand his questions. Yolei turn on her back and opened the bed up so that Joe could lay with her.

Days went on, Yolei stayed at her home on the night of prom. She was dressed in a navy blue one shouldered gown that had a slit up the side with a beading detail at her waist. The door rang and her parnets answered the door.

"It's Joe, Yolei!" Her mother yelled. Yolei slipped on her nude colored pumps, still with these heels Joe was still a head taller than her.

"Coming!" She glanced at a mirror before leaving her room. As quick as she could in heels Yolei made it to the living room.

"Hey." Joe simply said to his girlfriend, he was wearing a grey pant and vest combo with a white shirt and navy blue tie. She noticed that something was off because Joe was wearing a hat which never happens. Yolei grabbed the hat off of his hat and his hair was gone. She grasped in shock.

"Honey? What did you do?" She touched the top of his head

"I love you, and I thought you might like it." Joe said with a smirk, quickly he pecked her on the cheek. Yolei started to cry because of the actions of her boyfriend. "I have another surprise for you as well." Joe got down on one knee, "Yalei Inoue, will you marry me?" In his has hand was a ring that contained 1.5 carts of rubies with a halo setting. She was so shocked.

"Of course." Yolei answered, she started to cry as Joe slipped the ring on her finger. The couple enjoyed the night at her prom, and months later Yolei was considered to be in remission. Joe became a resident at the hospital, and one year later the happy couple got married on the anniversary of her remission.


End file.
